lentigogirl Member

Still trying to log both but the MFP databases are so much more complete. After a couple of months off because of travel and packing for moving, I am finally back in my exercise routine and it feels so good! I appreciate everyone's Thanksgiving tips. If I can avoid gravy, starches, and desserts, I will be ridiculously…

Count me in! Anyone aware of a crosswalk between MFP and the online WW? I don't know if I can manage login everything twice... I like this app much better.

I am looking for that absolute gold standard would be a crosswalk that means I don't need to log everything twice!!

What's up, shimmiers?

Geek librarians rock!

Find a local pro and ask what she does? Start with your former teacher. Then ask your current teacher if you like her. Also ask her if she can give you more complex variations on the moves she is teaching. And definitely work with your study buddy. Maybe you could do the practice in the online classes together? Finally,…

Thanks for posting, aerochic -- I have been trying to find my groups, especially this one! I'm taking a technique class and performing with a troupe, but I'm also seeing exciting performances. The most fun -- Raven's Night at the Birchmere, a local music hall that presents belly dance a few times a year. Raven's Night is…

Count me in! I'm going to try to double it as my personal challenge.

Coming late to this conversation but you should be so very very proud!

I have big calves and thick ankles (ie, cankles), and had them, to a marginally lesser degree, at 105 pounds too. I've learned to live with them. But thanks for the tip about Lane Bryant, because I can't get boots that fit.

raging discussions on these in most bellydance fora. She posted a followup affirming her original position and blasting her critics as racist. The best response, I think, is to demonstrate the degree to which many schools and dancers very much respect the tradition -- we love this dance and practice it out of appreciation,…

Yup, laugh it off! My dance school has been putting a lot of emphasis on the facial elements of performance this session, and it's been great.

Welcome Ally!

Last weekend I took a Samba/bellydance workshop -- my first fusion effort -- with S'adayya that was just terrific -- a complex choreography in 3 hours. She was very generous in taking and giving cues so that we can perform it at an upcoming show. It was a weekend residency; She also gave workshops on makeup, costuming, and…

Lots of the dancers I work with have wigs that are more like falls, with headbands. And let me echo the importance of practicing in it...

ooo -- wish they did that online! I'm not too far from Central VA but I don't think I can rationalize the road trip....

Awesome!

Thanks for asking -- The show was great! (see my profile pic -- which for some reason MFP has posted sideways, making me look way more acrobatic...) I was able to get a larger skirt -- and to add darts to expand it even more!

I ate too many sweets and didn't exercise while I was on travel (away from my machines!), but I'm back! Three hour dance class scheduled for Sunday to get me back into the swing before regular classes & rehearsals start Monday...

I tend to so my costume shopping more at Halloween! Last year I scored an amazing pair of peacock-feather wings... this year it was extra glitter and purple & black striped tights.

The new skirts came in today and now I'm much happier. Even with the larger size she's adding a wedge in the hip for almost all of us to stop it riding up... And I feel compelled to gripe on behalf of the women in my troupe who griped at me about my griping about needing to lose weight. Don't you hate it when women who are…

I have a sad personal gripe -- the costumes for my next performance came in and they gave me a skirt based on my height rather than my hips. These thighs do NOT fit into a small! Fortunately they can reorder in a larger size in time, but it was a really unpleasant feeling. And while I'm griping, I would be so much happier…

Belly dance is not the fitness industry, but an art form. I want an instructor who can teach dance. For that matter, that goes for fitness instructors as well -- I'd rather have someone who can teach than someone who just looks good.

Yes, biggest gripe is those who don't take it seriously -- the worst of whom equate it with pole dancing or stripping. And secondary gripe is for those who don't accept it as a form for all of us, regardless of age or size. I think the two gripes are related -- because if this were a dance only about sexuality, heaven…

Just saw the amazing annual Halloween Ravens Night spooky fusion bellydance show, http://www.ravensnight.com. It's making me think about taking a fusion class! Currently bellydancing three nights a week -- performance class, technique class, and rehearsal. Mostly we are practicing for our big December show.

Ok, I've jumped in, and also changed my profile picture (-; Madness!

Echoing that belly dance is for celebrating the body that you have - regardless of its size or age.. It's a 3000 year old tradition passed down by the grandmothers. I don't dance just for my audience, I dance for myself and for all the women who came before me and will come after.

Not quite dance, but I was part of a costumed fairy troupe in our local 4th of July parade -- essentially I wore a belly dance costume plus wings, and danced the entire way, blowing bubbles and chanting "bubbles not troubles."

Two different stage names for me. Originally I'd chosen Amahla, which is the Arabic version of my real name, Hope. But my teacher proposed a Persian word that immediately resonated but I forgot to write down -- I will have to check with her! I am told that our school's tradition is that you don't get a dance name until you…

My school had a belly dancing under the stars show last Saturday night. (I was at the beach doing my own outside dancing!)